Arizona
May 26, 2010
Head Coach Mike Candrea
On the match-up with BYU:
“We have film from when we played them earlier in the year, but I take that with a grain of salt because I think every team is different now than they were early on in the season. I’m much more worried about how our team plays, and if we play well everything should fall into place.”
On his string of 20 consecutive WCWS berths:
“It’s something I really don’t think about; I’m really a present moment type of person. If you think about stuff like that it can get you into trouble. But I look back at how we tried to be a consistent winner, and it takes many Matte Haack moments, or K’Lee Arredondo or Lini Koria type moments. We have a bull’s-eye on our back and we try to bring in kids who embrace that.”
On the 10 seed this year:
“The seeding doesn’t matter. You look at Louisiana Lafayette beating LSU and if you know the history of the program it doesn’t surprise you; they have done it right for a number of years, and BYU, too. Their athletic department has been great for some time and now softball is catching up.”
Freshman pitcher Kenzie Fowler
“I feel good today. I’ve been rehabbing and doing things I need to do to get ready for this weekend. I feel good right now.”
Did you ever throw 200 pitches in high school or on your AAU team?
“Definitely, that’s when I was young and fresh. I’m getting old.”
On the reaction of her arm to different weather conditions:
“No, weather doesn’t bother me. I’ve played in Tucson since I was born. This isn’t hot.”
Senior outfielder Brittany Lastrapes
On playing BYU earlier in the season:
“It was so long ago. They could be a completely different team now. I still remember their pitchers a little. I don’t think it’s going to help us that much.”
Senior infielder K’Lee Arredondo
On the upcoming series being her last at Hillenbrand Stadium:
“It’s sad knowing that this is it no matter what. It’s been fun, I’ve been trying to make this week memorable because it’s possible that this could be my last week of practice here at Hillenbrand, so hopefully we take care of business and make it to the World Series so that that’s not the case.”
On how long it took to get in the right mindset in clutch late game hitting situations:
“Probably up until last year; I was stubborn up until last year. The injury I went through (early in junior year) really put things into perspective, it slowed things down for me, helped me calm down and mature.”
BYU
May 27, 2010
Head Coach Gordon Eakin
“We’re excited to be here. It’s a great opportunity for us to compete on a national stage and we’re thrilled to be here. It’s a little hot, but other than that, no complaints.”
On Arizona being in a familiar position whereas BYU in unknown territory:
“It is what it is. This is unchartered waters for us. It’s very common and normal place for them, but you still have to play the game. The game is the game. You never know what will happen when you play the game. We’re very well aware of who Arizona is. We have a very extensive book on Arizona; the key is to execute the book. We’ll play to our strengths. We’ll conduct ourselves the way we do every game and try to win by playing to our strengths and not to Arizona.”
On the team’s strengths:
“They’re very experienced in terms of having been to the Regionals and this is the next step, so we’re assuming it’s similar to Regionals. They’re a determined bunch. They’re not intimidated. We’ll come out and play hard every pitch of the game regardless of the score.”
On senior infielder Angeline Quiocho:
“She enjoys life for one thing. I think often times that we lose sight that this is a game and we play it because she loves it, and she never loses that sight. It’s a game she loves to play. She plays loose and free. She has an incredible talent level. I’ve always said that she has more talent in their little finger than most coaches have ever coached. I think she’s finally put it all together this year. She’s got strength and she’s the fastest player in the team.”
On the game plan:
“We’re going to come out and be aggressive. We’re an aggressive hitting team and we’re not going to stop that. You guys are familiar with the Phoenix Suns, they’re a three point shooting team, and they’re not going to stop shooting threes; we’re not going to stop being aggressive.”
Senior Infielder Angeline Quiocho
On Kenzie Fowler:
“She’s really good. She brings the heat. She moves the ball. Facing her again is going to take a lot of adjustments, but I feel like our lineup can do that.
Junior Pitcher Paige Affleck
On the first meeting with Arizona:
“I think it’s a good thing that we got to see them before as far as the pitching staff. We kind of have a general idea unlike ECU and Texas where we just had to go off what we’d seen on film. I definitely like having seen them. I didn’t feel like my first outing was amazing. I think I need to come out a lot stronger. I think as the game emerged that first time we learned a lot about their lineup and we made changes. We’ve changed a ton. As a team, we’ve gotten much better, even just as how we show up to the ballpark. As a pitcher and as a pitching staff we’ve gotten much better.”
On the biggest thing you’ve learned since your freshman year:
“There’s been a lot. Probably just the mindset, there’s a mindset that you have to have when you face top-10 teams, top-25 teams. You can’t come into games fearful or intimidated. You just have to come out and do the best you can that day.”